Cruzan Car
Cruzan Car
1 1/2 oz Spiced Rum (Cruzan 9 implied)
3/4 oz Triple Sec
2 oz Sour Mix
3/4 oz Orange Juice
Fill shaker with ice. Add ingredients. Shake. Strain into cocktail glass.
(Although the photo is the actual cocktail, it seems all yellow-orange cocktails in a cocktail glass are going to look the same!)
Just to give another spiced rum a shot, I picked up a bottle of Cruzan 9 Spiced Rum. This is one of the rare alcohol items that actually lists what the spices are supposed to be. The list includes allspice, vanilla, pepper, ginger, mace, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and juniper berry.
To be very honest, I couldn’t identify all of these items if they were given to me individually. The aroma, however, is a nice, sweet, spicy mix. Not really intended for sipping, so I skipped that.
Mixed in a Rum and Coke, it isn’t bad. It isn’t great either. I still like the Bacardi Oakheart or the Captain Morgan Private Stock substantially better.
Proof: 70 (35% ABV)
Paid: $12
Buy again? Probably Not
Again, thanks to a sale price, and Derrick and Ian at Common Man Cocktails, I decided to try another spiced rum. While I wasn’t very impressed with Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum, this is another story.
Although it is pricey (for a cheap drinker like myself) at $25 for 750ml, it was on sale at $22. So I gave it a try. Let me tell you, I like the Bacardi Oakheart a lot. This is on the same level as the Oakheart to me. Great flavor, the alcohol doesn’t hurt you, and it mixes well. Vanilla, cinnamon, brown sugar, and some other spices I can’t separate out.
It is sweeter than the Oakheart, but brings a lot of flavor to the party. Makes a great Spiced Rum and Coke.
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Paid: $22 (on sale)
Buy again: Probably (when on sale!)
As with many of my purchases, I’m waiting for a sale. When Plantation Original Dark Double Aged Rum went on sale for $15 per bottle, I checked the reviews immediately. Most of the Plantation rums are well regarded. I watched a Common Man Cocktails review of the family including the Aged Dark, along with quite a few online ratings. Reviews behind me, I walked in to the ABC store, took a hard right, walked through the center of the store and right up to the Plantation, grabbed a bottle, checked out, and headed back to the Lair.
Upon opening the bottle, I was struck by the very pleasant aroma. It was sweet and fruity and had the funkiness that I kept reading about. Even that wasn’t unpleasant, just different. I also got no hint of alcohol! A little poured into a shot glass. I could almost drink this on ice! This was a new moment for me.
When added to cocktails, it yields a sweet and fruity drink. I could be happy drinking this with Coke and never trying another cocktail or spirit.
But I think I’ll keep trying, anyway.
Age: No age statement
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Paid: $15 (on sale)
Buy again: Yes (Absolutely, I have a second bottle in the wings!)
I’ve been quite the bargain hunter during my brief time as a consumer of cocktails. Not knowing if you will like something keeps you off of the top shelf, and looking for sale items to try. This is part of my quest just after the first of the month, when I journey into the local ABC store.
I snapped my pictures of the sale items and headed home. Amongst the rums, on the top shelf of all places, was a sale on Appleton Estate Signature Blend. This used to be called VX, but someone in marketing thought a change was in order. Regardless of the name, it got good marks for an entry level rum, and if memory recalls, had a sale price of about $20. That may not seem like much, but prior to this, the most expensive bottle was a bottle of Gosling’s Black Seal on sale for $16.
Driven by curiosity and with $20 that could be parted with, the deal was done. In the Lair, the cap was removed. Wow, I did not expect that. Compared to the white and spiced rums, there is complexity here. A smokiness from being in a charred barrel. Sweetness and something fruity.
If it isn’t considered a horrible thing to do to a good rum, I’ll tell you about mixing it with Coke. It was great! Not the kind of sugary spiced rum in coke, but it felt like a real, grown up cocktail with a real, grown up rum in it. Since I’m not a sipper of spirits, I don’t know how it would compare to other grown up rums. But for me, this changed my perception of rum from the candy sweet spiced variety to a serious drink. I can like both, you know, but now I can see new horizons.
Update: I’m sipping the Signature Blend and it is has a little burn, but the taste is very nice. I’m still trying to separate out the flavors, but maybe that will come in time.
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Paid: $20 (on sale)
Buy again: Yes
Don’t be dragged to the bottom by the Kraken! A decorative bottle to be sure. But there is that “black” rum versus dark rum confusion. Whatever the case, it is not a bad spiced rum. I like it better than Captain Morgan Original, but not as good as the Bacardi Oakheart, which is also much easier on the wallet. I bought a miniature (50ml) bottle just to try it.
Mixed with Rum and Coke, the spices come through, along with some sweetness. It has a little alcohol burn, but it doesn’t hit too hard.
Proof: 94 (47% ABV)
Paid: $1.50 for 50ml
Buy again: Probably not
Well this is the original spiced rum, or so they say, whoever they are. I actually bought a miniature (50ml) bottle just to try it. Straight sip equals alcohol burn. I didn’t get a lot of aroma from it. Mixed in Coke, it was underwhelming to me. The alcohol burn was still present, and the flavor was a much muted version of the flavors I have come to expect from other spiced rums.
Proof: 70 (35% ABV)
Paid: $1 for 50ml
Buy again: No
A far as white rums go, the expectations can be pretty low. Most aren’t aged and some are filtered to remove any color and most of the flavor. I think the Fat Rum Pirate described it (or quoted someone else) as “sweet vodka”. I think that is a pretty good description and I can’t top that. And to me, the Bacardi Superior is nothing more. There is some sweetness, and I get a hint of something tropical in the aroma, but nothing comes through.
In a cocktail, it adds the alcohol kick. I remember getting more of a subtle fruitiness from the Cruzan Light Rum.
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Paid: $7 for 375ml
Buy again: No
Apparently, spiced rum enthusiasts who spend time online really like Sailor Jerry’s Spiced Rum. I’ll spare you the oft repeated stories about the artwork and the guy behind Sailor Jerry’s. It is a spiced rum with a slightly higher proof than others in the category. Oddly, I get a cherry candy flavor from it. And it is fairly pronounced even in Rum and Coke, as well as other cocktails I’ve tried. On review, I also get a cherry medicine aroma.
46% ABV (92 Proof)
Paid: $10 for a 375ml
Buy again: No
Do not gaze into the inky darkness!
I wasn’t prepared for this. After a series of exciting discoveries about rum being the right spirit for me, I decided to go all in. I saw the bottle on the shelf, and the liquid inside looked dark and mysterious. As with most Cruzan bottles, it wasn’t expensive. Reviewers warned me that it was an “acquired taste”.
I finally succumbed to curiosity and took the bottle home. Removing the cork (synthetic maybe, but my first bottle with a cork) yielded the aroma or molases, maple syrup, and a sharper alcohol hit. Not stronger, sharper.
A sip. Very sweet, very… musty? Molasses. A challenge!
I tried it in a Rum and Coke. It didn’t work for me. I have used it in a couple of cocktails that were assertive and it definitely holds its own. It will get used, but “acquired taste” was right!
Distiller: Cruzan Rum Distillery/Beam-Suntory
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Paid: $17 for 750ml
Buy again: Probably not.
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